The Fear Within
by WickedWeirdo
Summary: Voldemort has taken over the wizarding world. Only aurors and the Order stand against him
1. Chapter 1

Pulling up the hood of his cloak to conceal his face, he pushed firmly against the tall, wooden door. It opened slowly, making a loud creaking sound. The door looked old and worn, and several small pieces of wood crumbled away from it, landing noiselessly on the hard stone floor. Closing the door behind him, he looked around at what he could see of the room. It was lit only by a few dim oil lamps and was made even darker by the thick smoke that hung in the air. The smoke came from the various witches, wizards and other absurd looking beings who were sitting round the room, puffing on old fashioned pipes. Over in the far corner, an unfriendly looking man stood serving drinks at the bar, which was made of wood as rotten looking as the door. This was not the sort of place Harry Potter usually went to.

Trying his best to avoid drawing any unnecessary attention to himself, Harry crossed the floor, dodging between the rickety tables and chairs to the bar. He sat down cautiously on a tall wooden stool at the bar, sure it would fall to pieces under his weight. It didn't however, and Harry allowed himself to relax slightly. He pulled his hood down slightly further to make sure it concealed his face completely. It would not be a good idea for him to be recognised here.

The barman approached him, his small black eyes staring at Harry in a way that made him feel sure his face was visible. He waited apprehensively for the eyes to flick upwards to search his forehead for the legendary scar, but to his great relief, it didn't happen.  
"A Butterbeer" said Harry, trying to disguise his voice. The barman stared at him a second longer, before moving away to get his drink. When he returned, Harry took it and drank deeply from it, whilst doing his best to keep the hood from falling back. He felt extremely uncomfortable in this pub and desperately hoped Ron wouldn't be too long.

Ten minutes, each of which felt like an hour to Harry, passed uneventfully. Suddenly, the creaking sound of the door opening made Harry look round expectantly. A tall figure, dressed in the same sort of cloak as Harry, was surveying the room from beneath a hood, which was pulled up to disguise his face. Harry knew at once who it was. He turned his attention back to the bar, looking fixedly at a bottle of Firewhiskey on a shelf . He did not want anyone's attention to be drawn to him and Ron. A moment later, he heard footfalls behind him, muffled slightly by the thick layers of dust on the floor. The stool to his right was drawn out, and the tall, cloaked figure sat down beside him. Harry longed to look round, but told himself firmly that he mustn't.

The barman came over to them to take the new arrivals drink order. He gave them both a long, suspicious star which made Harry feel once again, uneasy. "Butterbeer" said a voice from his right, slightly deeper than normal, but still recognisable to Harry as the voice of Ron. The barman moved away again and Harry felt an elbow jab him painfully in the ribs.  
"Sit for a while then go to the door and turn right. Wait round the corner and I'll follow a couple of minutes later." All this was said in a very faint whisper and Harry had to strain his ears to hear. His gave a slight nod to indicate that he understood and then took another drink from the bottle in front of him. The barman came back with Ron's drink and Harry waited until he had drunk most of it before finishing off his own. The paid the barman and then got up as quietly as he could. He made his way carefully to the door, seeing with great relief that no one was paying him any attention. People who hid their identity seemed to be as common here as it had been in the Hogs Head in Hogsmeade.

Harry breathed a sigh of relief as he stepped out into the night and closed the door of the pub firmly behind him. He had never been more relieved to leave a place in his life and that included Snape's dungeon classroom. He turned to the right and walked slowly along the street. It was not a very dark night, as the moon was almost full. Harry was glad on it's light, but knew he must keep in the shadows as much as possible. Dumbledore had told him how dangerous it might be for him to be caught and recognised. He rounded the corner and saw to his great relief that the street was deserted. He stood in the shadows and waited.

It seemed like an age before anything happened. Harry knew Ron would have to wait a reasonable amount of time to avoid any connections being made between them both, but it didn't stop him worrying that ron might have been caught. His fears subsided slightly as he heard indistinct creaking sounds like those made by the pub door. He stayed in the shadows, knowing that it could easily be someone else. He strained his ears and heard footsteps coming along the street in his direction. He shrank back into the shadows, pressing himself flat against the wall just to be safe. The sound of footsteps came even nearer and a figure rounded the corner into the street where Harry stood hidden. He could see the outline of a billowing cloak and as the figure walked right towards him, he knew it had to be long. No one else would have known to look for someone standing in the shadows.  
"Follow me" he whispered "Stay behind a bit" Harry shrank back. He waited until Ron was half way up the street and then followed quickly, afraid of loosing him in the dark. He stayed in the shadows as much as possible.

Harry followed Ron along streets and alleys until he had lost all sense of where he was. The was sure they were going round in circles and wondered why he didn't just get them to a safe place quickly. Suddenly he realised that he had lost sight of Ron. He stared around desperately, straining his eyes against the suffocating darkness that had now enveloped him. A thick cloud drifted across the moon completing the darkness and causing a panic to spread through Harry. He didn't know where he was or what to do.

Suddenly, something lunged at Harry out of the darkness and he fell heavily sideways. He felt his shoulder collide painfully with something which opened suddenly inwards. He fell to the ground and felt the object that had knocked him over fall on top of him. It leaped up at once and he heard a door closing. A light flicked on and Harry saw his best friend emerging from underneath the cloak. "Ron!" he said, relived, taking deep breathes. The fall had winded him. Ron held out a hand to help him to his feet. "Thanks for coming" he said grinning. Harry glanced around nervously. "It's ok. We're safe here" He led the way along the dingy passage and into a small room. There was a battered red sofa and a table with a few chairs. It had none of the friendliness and warmth that had always been present in the Weasley house, but Harry was not surprised. That feeling existed in very few places nowadays. Mrs Weasley's warm smile and kind heart had managed to keep a glimmer of it in the kitchen of Number 12 Grimmauld Place, but most homes smelt only of fear, death and destruction.

Since Voldemort had gained control of the wizarding world in Harry's seventh and final year at Hogwarts, all good feelings had evaporated and disappeared from everyday life. Deatheaters roamed the streets freely, no longer afraid to show their support for the Dark Lord, and those innocent, law abiding people who had once been free and unafraid were forced into hiding, unable to travel freely in daylight. Many had turned to the Dark Side to protect their families, but had found it to be hardly any safer than resisting unless they would whole heartedly devote their lives to Voldemort. Now only Aurors and the bravest witches and wizards would resist his plans of destruction. Dumbledore was of course a large part of the plans to overthrow Voldemort. He had recalled the Order of the Phoenix to Grimmauld Place and held meetings every few days to discuss plans. Harry was pleased to be of age as it meant that nothing was kept from him this time. He was a prominent part of everything that was going on. Dumbledore knew that Harry was their only chance if they wanted to get rid of Voldemort once and for all, to kill him. He was keeping Harry as safe as he could and had not been at all keen to allow him to come to this place to meet Ron that night. He had practically begged with Harry to allow Lupin to go, but Harry had been adamant. He insisted on going to meet Ron and would not even let Dumbledore send someone with him. "One is less conspicuous than two" he had told him, and Dumbledore, knowing he was right had not tried to deter him any more.

Ron sat down on a chair and motioned to Harry to sit on the sofa. He did so, his legs aching from the long stand, the walk and the fall. He looked up curiously at Ron.  
"So what is it?" he asked "Why did you ask for someone to be sent here? Couldn't you come to the Order?" Ron's face was serious. He shook his head.  
"No" he said "I think they're onto me Harry. I've been hearing people behind me all the time. I couldn't risk showing them where the Order was based." Harry made a noise in his throat to indicate he understood. He didn't know what to say. Ron's situation seemed worse than he had imagined. "I moved my stuff here" continued Ron. "I think since I moved I've shaken them off, but tonight I couldn't afford to take risks. I shoved you inside in the hopes that if anyone was watching, they wouldn't see you. I don't want anyone to know you visited me." Ron gave Harry a brief idea of what had been going on. He had managed to rescue three witches from some death eaters and had freed two people from the Imperius curse. Harry was impressed by this, but not overly surprised. These were the kind of things the Order members were doing everyday and were usually only mentioned in passing when they made their reports. Harry was beginning to think Ron was going mad to make him come all this way in so much danger just to tell him that. Not wanting to be unfriendly, but anxious to be on his way back to the Order, Harry asked him to come to the point. Ron looked very grave. "It's bad Harry," he said seriously "I've been working on this wizard that has been on the Dark Side to protect his family and last night I broke through a memory charm. Voldemort's planning to take Hogwarts"

It was three in the morning before Harry found himself walking along Grimmauld Place again. The journey back had been dangerous and difficult. Harry had had to go slowly most of the way to avoid being spotted. As he drew level with Number 11, he whispered softly "The Order of the Phoenix can be found at Number 12 Grimmauld Place" Number Twelve slid silently into view, pushing numbers 11 and 13 outwards. Harry went up the steps to the front door and slotted his key into the lock. He turned it and the door opened. As it closed behind him, he let out a sigh. He was safe again.

Harry went straight down the stairs to the kitchen below. As he got nearer, he heard voices. They seemed to be having a meeting of the Order. He was glad of this. He'd be able to tell them all together. He pushed open the door and about twenty heads turned to look at him. Dumbledore sat at the head of the table looking old and tired. There was a cry of relief from half way up the table and Mrs Weasley came hurrying towards him. "You're safe!" she said thankfully. "How's Ron? He's not hurt is he? What did he want?" She fussed over him, taking his cloak and then hurrying to get a cup of tea. A tired voice spoke from the bottom of the table. "I'm sure he'll tell us everything once he's had a drink and rested a bit Molly" said Lupin calmly. "You must be exhausted Harry." Harry nodded and sat down in a chair between Lupin and Hermione. Hermione was looking scared and worried. Harry smiled at her. "He's not hurt" he said reassuringly. "He's doing fine." Hermione was not the only one at the table who relaxed visibly. Arthur Weasley's face broke into a smile and Mrs Weasley gave another cry of relief. She came over and set the steaming cup of tea in front of Harry. He took a drink from it and then began to tell his news. He neared the end and saw that everyone was as puzzled as he had been as to why Ron had needed them to know this. He paused before revealing the worst.  
"Ron broke through a memory charm" he said slowly "Voldemort's finalising plans to take Hogwarts" 


	2. Chapter 2

There were gasps from several places around the table. An attack on Hogwarts had not been wholly unexpected, but no one had anticipated that it might happen so soon. There was silence as every face in the room turned to look anxiously at Albus Dumbledore. To Harry's bewilderment, Dumbledore looked perfectly calm. "This is not surprising news" he said calmly "Though it is useful to have the information for certain. I have some plans which can be put into operation very soon and will start taking all necessary precautions immediately." He rose from his place and walked swiftly to the fireplace. "I must go to Hogwarts without delay. I bid you all goodnight" He threw floopowder into the cracking flames and within seconds was spinning out of sight. There was silence again as everyone stared fixedly at the place he had just vanished from, and then Fred broke the silence.  
"I wonder what his plans are" he said curiously "He's never mentioned anything." "Well no, but Dumbledore doesn't share everything with the Order" said his mother, beginning to tidy away mugs. "He probably didn't want us to get into a panic." She added matter-of-factly, though Harry could tell she would have liked to know more too.

That evening, Harry went up to bed earlier than usual. He was very tired from his expedition and the thought of bed was very welcoming. He went upstairs, taking his robes with him. He hung them up in the cupboard and closed the doors. He turned to walk over to his bed when there was a soft knock on the door. He went over and opened it a couple of inches. Hermione stood outside. Harry quickly opened the door wide to let her come inside. He closed the door behind her and turned to face her. "What is it?" he asked, puzzled. Hermione had had plenty of time to speak to him before he came upstairs. "It's just um… Ron. He is ok isn't he?" she said awkwardly, blushing a bright red. "Yeah he's fine" said Harry still puzzled. He had told everyone how Ron was. He had a feeling that this was not what Hermione really wanted to ask. He looked questioningly at her. She blushed even brighter and fiddled with her watch,  
"Um.. Did he… did he give you any…well any message for me?" Hermione asked in an awkward voice. Harry suddenly understood.  
"No he didn't" he said, wishing he could tell her something different. She looked really disappointed. "I'm sure he would of, but we didn't have time to talk" he added quickly. Hermione forced a smile and then walked quickly from the room, her cheeks still burning.

Though exhausted, Harry tossed and turned in bed for a long time before he got to sleep. He lay looking at Ron's empty bed on the other side of the room and couldn't help wishing Ron was lying asleep there, safe and sound. It should be him that was out in the streets risking his life. He had caused Voldemort's downfall once and he would have to do it again, if there was to be any hope at all for the wizarding world returning to peace. He swung his feet out of bed and stood up. He was about to reach for his cloak, when he realised how much trouble his disappearance would cause. He sat down reluctantly and then pulled the duvet over himself again. He closed his eyes, trying desperately to rid his brain of the thoughts of Ron out there while he was stuck at Grimmauld Place. He now fully appreciated how Sirius had felt in Harry's fifth year at Hogwarts, when he had been forced to stay in the house for almost a year. At least Harry had been allowed out sometimes.

When Harry finally drifted off to sleep, his dreams were troubled. He saw Ron lying on the ground, his eyes staring at nothing, a tall, black figure standing over him, green light still hovering around the end of it's wand. As Harry ran forward quickly, the figure looked up, it's eyes fixing on Harry. A shiver went down his spine as he saw the bright red. The figure raised it's wand and Harry woke with a start, sweating and afraid. It took him a long time to get to sleep after that. As soon as he closed his eyes, the image appeared and Harry snapped his eyes open again. It was not until the first rays of the rising sun crept silently over the windowsill, that he slept again.

He woke to the sound of someone knocking gently at the door. He got slowly out of bed, rubbing his eyes and yawning, and made his way to the door. He opened it to find Mrs Weasley standing there with a pile of clothes. She looked sympathetically at him. "Didn't you sleep well?" she asked, kindly. "Why not just put on a dressing gown to come to breakfast and then after that you can come back and sleep a bit more." "No, it's ok" said Harry, barely containing another yawn. "I'll be down soon" He took the pile of clean clothes from Mrs Weasley and shut the door again. He got dressed slowly, putting on jeans and a t-shirt. He nearly always wore Muggle clothes, as did most of the others his age. Only slightly older wizards like Dumbledore and Mr Weasley seemed to wear clothes that would look totally out of place in the muggle world.

Walking into the kitchen ten minutes later, Harry saw Dumbledore sitting at the top of the table, taking a parchment envelope from the leg of a large tawny owl. He took a seat half way along the table and started to eat the bowl of cereal Mrs Weasley had put down in front of him as soon as he sat down. He watched Dumbledore out of the corner of his eye, wondering if the letter contained any news. Dumbledore looked slightly surprised. He folded up the letter and tucked inside his robes before turning to look seriously at Harry. "Harry," he began, his voice quite grave "How would you feel about going out again tonight?" Out of the corner of his eye, Harry saw Mrs Weasley's head turn quickly to look at them.  
"I don't think that's a good idea Albus" she said firmly "Harry is tired out as it is." "Harry needn't go anywhere if he doesn't feel able to Molly." said Dumbledore calmly "He's old enough to decide for himself though." "I'll go out" said Harry quickly, eager to be of some use again. He avoided looking at Mrs Weasley as he said this. He knew she didn't approve. "What is it?" "I've just had a letter from Ron" said Dumbledore looking slightly worried. "He needs someone to meet him, same time, same place tonight."

As Harry got ready to leave that night, Hermione, Mrs Weasley and Ginny stood around him, fussing about all sorts of things. All three were clearly worried and Harry couldn't blame them. He had felt slightly uneasy since that morning when Dumbledore had told him the contents of the letter. Why would Ron need to see a member of the order again so soon? He had not told Mrs Weasley, Ginny or Hermione what Ron had said about being followed for fear of upsetting them even more, but the thought was weighing heavily on his own mind. He put on his cloak and checked that his wand was safely in his pocket, where it could easily be pulled out if needed. Mrs Weasley hugged him and told him to be careful, and Hermione and Ginny followed suite. As he went to open the door, Hermione and Mrs Weasley went through the door to go down to the kitchen, but Ginny stayed where she was.  
"Please be careful Harry" she said in almost a whisper, then turned and ran to the door. Harry looked at the door she had just vanished through for a moment before opening the door and going out onto the street.

Harry walked the now familiar route to the pub without anything much happening. At one point of the route, a quick movement to his left had caused him to pull out his wand and sink into the darkest shadows, but it had been nothing more than a cat. He was glad to reach the pub, for although he hated the place, he had walked a long way and was tired. He pushed open the door. It creaked even louder than it had the night before, but to Harry's relief, no one was taking much notice of his arrival. He closed the door as gently as he could. By the amount of wood flakes that came off of it, he doubted it could survive being slammed. He made his way quickly over to the bar, adjusting his hood to make sure his face was not visible. He took a seat at the bar again, coughing slightly on the fumes coming from a pipe being smoked by a wrinkled old wizard sitting at a nearby table. The barman came over and asked what he wanted and Harry once again ordered a Butterbeer. The barman gave him a funny look, but let it pass. Harry silently cursed himself for not ordering something different this time. He did not want the barman to know it was the same person again, even if he didn't know who it was.

Once he had his drink, Harry drank slowly from the bottle, keeping an eye on the door. It opened every so often and Harry looked up expectantly each time, his hopes falling as he saw that it wasn't Ron. He checked his watch now and then, growing increasingly worried as the time passed. Ron had been there by 9 the previous evening and it was now well past 10. Harry felt a feeling of fear rising inside him, and ordered another drink to try and calm himself down.

As quarter to 11 approached, the bar started to empty slowly and Harry began to feel very worried indeed. For the past hour he had sat thinking of any reason he could why Ron would be so late, but none of them had made much sense. His dream was creeping into his head and Harry could not help feeling there might have been some truth in it. He was now sitting staring at the door, not caring whether people would think this strange or not. He sat there until he was one of only three people left in the bar. The barman came along the bar.  
"Closing time" he said and Harry reluctantly got up. He made his way to the door, not sure what he should do. He went through the door and closed it behind him quickly. He had made up his mind, He was going to Ron's house to look for him.

As Harry walked swiftly and quietly along the streets, glad of the thick clouds that covered the moon and blacked out the night sky. He did not have to be quite so careful to keep in the shadows. Although he walked fast, his progression was slow, as he stopped at every street corner, not altogether certain of which way to go. He was glad that the route held certain landmarks here and there and felt a surge of relief every time he saw a familiar object. Soon he had reached the road where Ron's house was. He turned into it, he head down. He knew that if there was danger, he was fast approaching it. As it passed a metal dustbin. He noticed that an eerie green light was reflecting off it and was at once aware that the night was no longer dark. He heart filling with dread, Harry slowly turned his head upwards. He froze, an icy wave washing over him as his eyes fixed on the Dark Mark, hovering silently, over the pile of rubble that had been Ron's house. 


	3. Chapter 3

Harry closed the door of Number 12 behind him and leaned against it. His breathe was coming in gasps. He had run most of the way home, a mixed feeling of fear, rage and anguish almost choking him. Harry had let Ron do the job he had been meant to, had given in without a fight and now Ron was dead. He stayed there, until his breathing returned almost to normal. It didn't feel quite right though. A tightness inside him was stopping him from breathing, seeing, even thinking properly. His head was filled by one thought only. Ron was dead. He couldn't quite take it in.  
"Harry" a voice spoke from the stairs and he turned to look. Ginny stood there, staring at him, her face pale and ghostly. "Harry, he is……he is alright isn't he." She came closer looking questionably at him, her eyes betraying her fear.  
"He didn't show up." said Harry, struggling to find the words to tells her. "His house is ruined and……and the Dark Mark is hanging over it."

Ginny screamed, her hands flying up to her mouth and tears beginning to run quickly down her face. She shook uncontrollably and Harry heard running footsteps on the stairs. Mrs Weasley burst through the door closely followed by Hermione. As soon as Mrs Weasley set eyes on Ginny, Harry saw the colour drain out of her face. She looked at Harry, opening her mouth to ask about Ron, but the words didn't come. Harry told her in a choking voice what he had just told Ginny. Hermione went white too, and tears began to run soundlessly down her face. She stood there staring at Harry, but not actually seeing him. She gave small gasps as though she could hardly breathe. Mrs Weasley fainted clean away, falling to the floor with surprisingly little noise, her face bloodless.

Most of the Order arrived at the house through that night. No one went to bed, but took it in turns to get up and get drinks for the cold order members that came in in ones and twos. The whole Weasley family was there, even Percy who had been forced to apologise when the Deatheaters had taken over, and the others sat in silence sharing their grief. Mr Weasley sat staring into space, his arm round Mrs Weasley who was sobbing silently. Tonks sat between Hermione and Ginny, her arms round both of them, comforting them as best she could, though her own eyes were not quite dry. The Weasley boys sat in a groups, patting each other comfortingly on the back every now and then. Harry sat alone, his mind filled with images of the ruined house, the dark mark and worst of all, that dream.

The door in the hall above opened and closed again, but no one paid much notice. Fred looked up, then realising what it was, looked back at the floor. It was probably just another member of the order. Harry thought no more of it, until several minutes had passed and no one had come down the stairs to the kitchen. He looked at the others and noticed that some of them were also looking puzzled. He got up slowly.  
"I think I'm going to go and see what's going on" he said, breaking the silence of an hour. Lupin rose from his seat.  
"I'll come with you" he said, his face puzzled. They walked to the door together and ascended the steps to the hallway above. Harry stepped through the door at the top and gasped. Ron was lying in a heap of tangled robes at the door. His robes were covered in blood and his face was drained of all colour.

As Lupin and Harry shuffled through the door into the kitchen supporting Ron between them, there was a scream from the far end of the table. Mrs Weasley ran over to them, and took ron in her arms, hugging him as though she would never let go. The tears came again and she sobbed uncontrollably into his shoulder. It was several minutes before Mr Weasley managed to make her let him go and led him carefully to a chair. Ron collapsed into it, looking exhausted and almost lifeless. People crowded round, but Mrs Weasley pushed them back telling them to give him room to breathe. Hermione came forward, fresh tears pouring down her face and took his arm tenderly in her hands. The blood was coming for a deep gash. Lupin came forward and took a look at it. "I'm going to Hogwarts" he said "Nothing we have here can heal this" Within seconds he had vanished. Hermione began to lovingly bandage the wound, not caring that the blood soaked through each new layer, but kept bandaging until it stopped.

Lupin came forward and gently pulled Hermione away. He pulled open the dressing slightly and looked at the gash underneath. Harry saw him winch, making it obvious that the gash was serious. Lupin looked up and spoke calmly to Mrs Weasley.  
"I have some experience of wounds like these," he told her. "This isn't going to heal by itself. I think the best thing to do would be for me to go the Hogwarts and see if Madam Pomfrey would come here to see to him." Mrs Weasley sniffed and nodded her agreement. Lupin turned swiftly and headed for the fireplace, reaching for the vase of floo powder off a nearby table. A moment later he had vanished in a tall emerald flame.

Mr Weasley and Bill managed to help Ron upstairs and into the room he always shared with Harry. They took off his robes, jumper and shoes and put him into bed in his clothes. Ron's eyes were closed and he was breathing shallowly. Harry sat down on his bed, watching as the Weasley's fussed round him. Hermione was crying quietly, but the look on her face was one of relief. Harry got up from his bed and went over to her.  
"He'll be ok," he told her, putting his arm round her shoulders. She nodded and took out a hanky to blow her nose and wipe her eyes. She had soon calmed down a little and Harry told her to go and wash her face with cold water. She went out of the room in the direction of the bathroom.

About ten minutes passed before the sound of feet on the stairs alerted everyone and drew their attention to the door. A moment later, Lupin walked through it, followed closely by Madam Pomfrey, the Hogwarts nurse. Harry had not seen her for a couple of years, but apart from looking a little older and having less colour in her hair, she had not changed significantly. She walked quickly across to the bed, commanding everyone to step back in a business like manner. She had a small bag with her and out of it, she took her wand. She pointed it at the dressing which disappeared. The blood began to flow almost at once, but she quickly put a towel underneath his arm. Harry did not see how this would help. It would only mean that the towel got soaked in blood as well as the bed. It was not until the blood ran down onto the towel that Harry saw the point. The blood lay glistening on the towel for a split second, then like a fuzzy picture on a television screen, began to blur and faded out of sight. The towel was left spotlessly white for a second before more blood seeped onto it.

Meanwhile, Madam Pomfrey had reached into her bag and got out a tube of vile smelling paste. She squeezed it all over the wound and Ron moaned in pain. No blood was coming now as the paste was blocking it, but Harry could not see that anything was happening. He drew closer to the bed and then leapt back as the paste emitted a load hissing sound and a small cloud of steam erupted from it. Madam Pomfrey looked satisfied and picked up her wand again. She gave it a flick and he pointed it straight at his arm. The paste was gone immediately and to Harry's astonishment, Ron's arm showed no signs of any injury at all. Disbelievingly, Harry reached out and touched the spot where the gash had been. To his astonishment, the skin was as smooth as it ever had been and there was no sign on even a small scar.

Mrs Weasley gave a cry of relief and sat down heavily on the end of Ron's bed. In fact, the only person in the room that wasn't looking relieved and surprised was Madam Pomfrey. Harry supposed this had become a mere procedure for her and no miracle at all. She was tidying up her things in a business like fashion, putting everyone neatly into the bag. She put in the towel which was now spotless and began walking towards the door. Mr and Mrs Weasley followed, Mrs Weasley telling Madam Pomfrey between small sobs how grateful they were. The other Weasley's followed, with Lupin, Harry and Hermione bringing up the rear. They were slightly behind the other, but got to the kitchen just in time to find Madam Pomfrey, who was standing by the fireplace, giving instructions to the Weasleys. "You should have someone with him all the time" she said "The wound healed splendidly which has given him a much better chance of survival, but he's in a bad state of shock and I can't be certain yet." She turned to go, but Mrs Weasley stopped her with a cry.  
"Do you mean he's not out of danger?" she said, her face filled with fear. "He might still die?" "Yes that's exactly what I mean" said Madam Pomfrey gravely. "If he's to survive, he needs lots of rest, plenty good food and most important of all, don't let him worry about anything. He should not be asked to give an account of anything that happened until he is completely well again, and I shall tell Dumbledore as much."

Madam Pomfrey went moments later, leaving most of the Weasley family to comfort Mrs Weasley. Harry excused himself by saying he would go and sit with Ron first and Mrs Weasley agreed gratefully. Harry ascended the stairs to the landing where their bedroom was and opened the door quietly. Ron was in bed, but he now had pyjamas on. He must have got up and out them on when they had all gone away. His eyes were open and Harry grinned at him. He grinned back, but it was a feeble, almost lifeless replica of his normal grin, which had always lit up his whole face. This grin showed more in his eyes than at his mouth, and failed to brighten up the gaunt, pale face. He looked a bit better though, and Harry began to think that what Madam Pomfrey had said was simply to make them more careful. There couldn't be any chance of him dying now could there? He was looking better already.

Determined not to let Ron see that he was worried, Harry fixed the smile back on his face. He pulled over a chair and sat down beside Ron's bed. "We've to have someone sitting with you all the time" he said. Sensing Ron's confusion he quickly added, "It's because you're not to get up, so we've to have someone here to get you anything you need." Ron obviously accepted this story, because he relaxed and lay back on he pillows. "I've never been through anything like that before" he said, his face looking even paler and his voice sounding full of fear. Harry realised instantly of what he was talking and hastened to stop him.  
"Well don't talk about that now" he told him awkwardly. "We'll hear about it when you're better." Ron grinned at Harry difficulty and this time it looked slightly more like the old Ron. "Ok" he said, still grinning. "Sorry about the pub though. You must have been there a long time" "Oh it's ok" said Harry grinning back. "I was starting to like it there. I might go and live there next time in a small room of my own at the back. Save me waiting in clouds of smoke surrounded by bottles of alcohol that I'm under stern orders from Dumbledore not to touch."

The next few days were rather uneventful. Everyone who was not busy with Order work took it in turns to sit with ron. This left the task mainly up to Harry, Hermione and Ginny. Mrs Weasley did not have any specific Order work to do, but as she was in charge of the running of the whole house, it was thought that she had enough to do. She insisted on taking the first watch at night though, after her house work was done. This gave her a tired appearance and she had started sleeping a little later, but she was as cheerful as ever and kept the house running as smoothly as she could.

During Harry's watches, they would talk or play games, so long as they weren't too rowdy for Ron. Ginny was much the same. Harry would sometimes hear them chattering or playing chess as he went past. Hermione was different though. Her watches were always quiet. Harry had once gone up the stairs and heard low voices talking, but as he approached, a floorboard creaked and the voices broke off. He made the excuse of going in to get something out of his trunk so as to avoid any thoughts that he had been eavesdropping, and found Hermione and Ron looking embarrassed and awkward by his presence. He had not doubt now that they were in love, but didn't tell anyone. He had a feeling that Hermione had told Ginny, but everyone else seemed oblivious. He did not want to interfere and so had never asked Ron and Hermione about it, or even let them think he knew. They could tell him when they wanted to. 


End file.
